


Midnight Kiss

by Pikuna



Series: Vesuvian Mystics [2]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Kissing, Romantic Fluff, Touching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 19:39:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12394818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikuna/pseuds/Pikuna
Summary: During the night at Mazelinka's house, Ajina has a hard time to get some sleep.In hopes to calm her mind she visits the little garden of the house, but she isn't alone for long.The doctor who currently haunts her every thought follows her and Ajina does anything but calm down.





	Midnight Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Started writing this before the second book update and I'm happy it still works with the canon. xD  
> Split in half, because of little writers block and me dancing around certain parts.  
> *is very tired now, so not much notes and bad summary*

Ajina really missed the times where she could sleep through the night. 

Since she had accepted the Countess's... _Nadia's_ offer, it was hard for her to calm down from all the excitement and troubles that plagu ed her every day anew. 

Even after an evening full of running away from guards, Ajina was only able to drift into a light sleep, before her own tossing and turning annoyed her so much that she started to fully awake again.

Hopefully she hadn't disturbed Julian. That poor guy needed all the sleep he could get. Not only because of the exhaustion he got from taking her wound, but also because he looked like he rarely got any sleep in the first place. 

The first thing Ajina noticed, when she came back to full consciousness, was that she was pressed against something and while her right hand was tugged under her chin, the other one was grasping at a piece of clothes. It took her a few moments to realize that it was Julian's back she was pressed against and that it was his shirt she was grabbing at. 

A blush spread over Ajina's face. 

When had that happened?  Julian was still laying on his site, the same position he had fallen asleep, so it must have been her who moved closer. 

Careful and quiet she let go of his shirt and rolled on her back to sit up.  With a flick of her fingers Ajina created a little flame that helped her to make out her close surroundings. 

The doctor didn't seemed to be fazed by her movements or the light and only let out a little snore, which made her chuckle. Now with the light she could see a strand of his curly hair fell over his good eye and just as before Ajina couldn't stop herself from stroking it gently away. A low murmur, followed by a sigh was his only reaction, but it was enough to make her heart doing flip-flops. 

She watched him for a minute longer, smiling fondly, before she decided to get some fresh air. Maybe that would help to clear her head and go to sleep again.

Since Ajina preferred to sleep in just her top piece, she had taken off her loose waistcoat and sleeves and also undone her high ponytail. She didn't put them on again for her little night stroll. But she did pick up the flower Julian had given her in the garden they had hidden in. It had lost some of it's glow. Maybe a bit of moonlight would be good for it.

As quiet as possible, Ajina sneaked out of the room and through the kitchen to the backdoor Mazelinka had gone through earlier. To her relive the old woman was sound asleep in her makeshift bed and didn't even stirred at the creaking door. 

Cool night air blew into her face, when she stepped out in the little back garden. Patches of herbs and spice plants decorated the place and a stone bench was placed against one of the walls surrounding the garden. 

After closing the door, Ajina went to the bench and sat down, against the wall. Another flick with her fingers and the flame went out, since the moon provided enough light for now. She took in a deep breath and looked up at the cloudless sky. The twinkling stars and fresh air already did their job with calming her down. 

Everything was such a whirlwind in the last days and usual she would have just gladly followed the flow of this adventure, enjoying the thrill of the unknown. But usually there wasn't someone's life on the line. Especially not someone's she had started to care about.

With a sigh she lifted the flower head, holding it against the dark firmament. As expected the Deadly Starstrand regained some of it's glow again and it almost looked like she had a real star in her hand. 

Beautiful, but as Julian had explained, very dangerous.

Ajina really liked this notion. 

Twirling the flower between her fingers, she remembered their moment in the hidden garden and smiled slightly. She herself always claimed that she wasn't big into typical romantic gestures, but being presented with a poisonous flowers after they had run away from the city guards was in no way typical. 

When she thought back on how gentle Julian had caressed and looked at her, Ajina's cheeks became very warm. She had to put her hand over her mouth to muffle a giggle, but couldn't stop herself from grinning like a dork. 

Oh, she really had it bad for the doctor, hadn't she?

This was not her first crush, but Ajina could already tell it was...different. They had the same sense of humor, he used just the right way to charm her and he attracted trouble just as easy as she did. 

_I'd love to make something real with you._  

The memory of those words alone made her heart pounding very fast.

Julian wasn't just flirting with her for the fun of it, as she had assumed at first, but was genuinely interested in her as person and wasn't deterred by her brash attitude. Oh, he was worried about her recklessness, but it didn't feel like he was patronizing her. 

Ajina shared Julian's wish, she also would like to try to make something real with him. She wanted to learn more about him, spent more time with him. She wanted...

_If we had more time..._

A deep sigh escaped her and ran her hand over the back of her neck. 

This was all fine and dandy, if it wouldn't be for the fact that he was a wanted fugitive and she was supposed to bring him before the countess. Wrong time, wrong person. As usual Ajina liked to make things more complicated for herself as they already were.

And those words from Julian worried her. Was he only talking about the chance that he could get captured? Or had it something to do with curse he apparently got from Asra?

Another thing that preyed at her mind. What was Julian's connection with her master? Asra had been so cryptic again, when she asked about him, the only clue she had gotten was that those two new each other. But why would Asra give Julian such a curse? Was it a punishment for something? Why couldn't anyone be straight forward with her?

Frustrated Ajina thumped her head against the wall behind her. Hadn't she come out here to get her head free instead of overthinking? Now her mind was racing again and the idea of sleeping receded into the distance again.

Her gaze went up to the sky again and she focused herself on the stars above her, mapping out the constellations she could see.

Orion, Leo, Perseus...

"Ajina?"

Ah, she had found the Aries constellation, her zodiac sign. A fitting one, since many people told her she was stubborn as a ram and would try to solve problems with force instead using her wits.

"Ajina?"

Astrology wasn't something she was well versed with, but it was always interesting to know what a birth sign could say about a person. Absently she wondered what Julian's sign was.

"Ajina!"

Suddenly the face of said man came into her vision.

She had been so absorbed in her observation that she hadn't noticed him approaching and calling out her name. As a result she got scared witless at his sudden appearance and out of reflex she throw a punch at him. Her fist met his nose and sent him flying to the ground with a pained grunt.

"Oh god, Julian!" Ajina hissed in panic, after she realized what had happened and knelt besides him. "Are you okay?"

"Ugh, you really have a mean right hook," he groaned, but still sounded amused while she helped him to sit up again. He had one hand on his nose and a few drops of blood dripped to the ground. 

"I'm really _so_ sorry Julian, I didn't mean to do that," she apologized frantically. Mentally she cursed herself.

But Julian only shook his head and gripped her upper arm with his free hand to gently squeeze it.

"It's alright Ajina. Don't worry about me. I feel... _fine_." At the last word he closed his eyes and let out a sigh that sounded...pleased?

Ajina blinked perplexed at him.

She gently tried to get his hand away from his nose to take a look at it. But instead Julian intertwined his fingers with hers and looked up at her with hooded eyes, a blush decorating his face. Tingling warmth rose in Ajina's stomach at this sight and she remembered: Julian actually liked pain. In an... _intimate_ way. 

"You enjoyed that, right?" Ajina murmured and tugged him a bit closer to her. His eyes widened for a moment in surprise, but then his lips curled into an excited smile. 

"Well, I do tend to enjoy a good punch from a beautiful lady."

For a moment she couldn't decide what flustered her more: the look he gave her or his words. Either way, both and the memories of his lips on hers made the heat only grow stronger. Ajina knew, if she went on like this she wouldn't be able to stop herself. So she acted against her desires and let go of Julian's hand to gently shove him a few centimeters away, creating a bit more distance between them. 

"So what, you scared me on purpose?" she laughed, masking the disappointment at her own decision with humor and sat down in front of him.

Julian was visibly bewildered at the sudden change in her behavior, his own disappointment but also worry flashed over his features. Still he went along with it and tried so smile.

"No, not exactly," he said, wiping the blood from his nose, "Just tried to get your attention."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Was just deep in thoughts," she apologized and scratched her cheek in embarrassment. Not wanting to get into details, she tried to steer the conversation into another direction. "Anyway, what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be sleeping and getting your strength back?"

At this question Julian raised an eye-brow. "Could ask you the same."

"Maybe, but I asked first."

"Fair enough. I just missed someone clinging to me, my back was growing cold," he answered with a cheeky grin.

"Oh, I'm so sorry for that," Ajina said with slight sarcasm and visible embarrassment, but then sighs. Julian kept staring expectantly at her so she had no real choice. "Just couldn't sleep, that's all."

He gave her a searching look. "Something bothering you?"

Her eyes were glued to the grass for several moments, debating what or how much she should tell him from her previous thoughts. After all she didn't want to admit that he was one of the things that bothered her in a way. 

"This whole affair is just...so much more complicated than I thought it would be. I want to solve this, but I barely get the chance to take a step forward."

"And you are not the most patient person, aren't you?" Julian commented with a smirk.

"You figured that out just now?" They both shared a laugh, before Ajina let out another sigh and let herself lay down in the gras. "But yeah, I'm not and it feels like fate makes it harder for me on purpose."

For several moments there was silence between them, with Ajina staring up to the sky again and Julian watching her.

"Well, you _could_ make it easier for you," he said after a while.  

Ajina turned her head in his direction and blinked curiously. "And how?"

The doctor didn't answer right away and plucked a few grass stalks out of the ground. She noticed how tired he looked, more than usual.

"By simply handing me over to the guards. That surely would end all this hubbub and you can walk back into your little shop."

_And it would mean your end,_ she thought and her stomach twisted at this. "Do you want me to hand you over?"

A mirthless laugh escaped Julian. "I prefer you would not, but if it can't be avoided," he said with a shrug. "I actually wonder why you haven't so already."

"How could I send you to death just like that?" she exclaimed irritated and quickly sat up again. 

Julian was startled at how harsh Ajina's words were and so was she. But for a moment she got so angry at him, for being so nonchalant about his situation, about the possibility of his death.

After taking in a deep breath she continued in a calmer tone: "The Countess asked me to find the murderer of Count Lucio and that's exactly what I will do. And I won't accuse anyone without definite proof."

"Everyone in the palace is convinced that it was me. And that thing speaks volumes." When Julian held up his hand with the murderer's brand Ajina felt a dreadful prickle on her skin. Still...

"Not everyone. Portia doesn't." At the mentioning of his sister Julian's face softened into a little smile. "And...me neither. I mean...it's just hard to believe." She doesn't look him in the eyes and fumbles with her hands. "You have no memory of that night and that's just plain odd. What if someone has erased your memory on purpose, so they could use you as scapegoat? There are still so many questions I have no answer for."

She didn't register that Julian had come closer to her, only when he took her twitchy hands in his she looked up and saw that their faces were just inches apart. 

"You really believe me that I can't remember?" he asked her in a whisper, uncertainty clear in his voice and expression. 

"Yes, I do," Ajina answered him, no waver in her voice. And she meant it.

She had seen the pain flash over his face when he had tried to remember the letter she had found in his desk. She was sure it was the same kind of headache she had, whenever she tried to remember details about her life before she had met Asra. The same expression crossed his features this evening when he talked about the Count's murder. Besides if he indeed would lie, it would be a too obvious one. 

Julian let out a huff of disbelieve. "But why? I'm certainly not the most trustworthy person in the city with the murder charge and breaking in into your shop...twice."

Now she started to fumble with his hands, casting her gaze down towards them. "Because you are a doctor Julian. And I trust that you chose this profession, because you want to help people. After all you took that wound from me without thinking twice."

She noticed that he wanted to interrupt her, probably to deny that he did anything special. But Ajina was having none of it and simply silenced him by putting two fingers on his lips.

"Ah, no backtalk there. Doesn't matter if it was better you than me or than I'm more _fragile_ , it was a pretty selfless act." 

Pleased that Julian indeed kept quiet and just looked astonished at her, she continued. "Anyway, because of that I have a hard time to believe you could've killed someone, at least not without a very good reason. And my guts are telling me that something is very fishy about this whole story."

Ajina had become thoughtful again at her last words, so she didn't notice his quiet laugh at first. Before she could look up again, he had let his upper body fall towards her, almost toppling her over with his size. But she managed to grab his upper arms and steadied him. 

It seemed like exhaustion had finally overcame him, since he hadn't had enough time to recover from the eel bite and her punch surely hadn't helped his state. She was about to suggest to go back inside, when Julian nestled his head against the side of her neck, making her body go rigid. 

"You are far too trusting for your own good Ajina," he mumbled into her shoulder. Despite her nervousness of his proximity Ajina had to laugh at this kind phrasing of her rashness. 

"Yeah, I know. Getting too easily attached to people. But I can't help it," she sighed dramatically and Julian chuckled at that. 

He made now move to get up again and Ajina thought it was because he needed to regain a bit of his strength first. So she gave him the time, rubbing her thumbs gently over his shoulders. Her own body had relaxed by now and she enjoyed this kind-of cuddling.

By the way Julian always tried to be close to her, Ajina had a feeling that he was touch starved, a feeling that she could understand very good. While Asra was always up for a hug or stroking her, he was not here at the moment and with Julian it felt...nicer. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's not a nice cut. I know and apologize for it.  
> Just want to post something.
> 
> [My Arcana tumblr blog](https://ajina-apprentice.tumblr.com/), if you are interested.


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